


Cold Again

by darkJ3



Category: Final Fantasy VII
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-28
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-04-14 03:42:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 12,486
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14127321
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/darkJ3/pseuds/darkJ3
Summary: Cloud has to do chores for his mom. He skips out for one day, and things don't go very well.(Alternate Reality)(OCs for Nibelheim villagers)(No intense violence, but character injuries)(swears)





	1. Chapter 1

It was cold again. Everything was always cold. This stupid town was nothing like home, Cloud grumbled. He tried to grab his axe again, and it slipped through his mittens like before. His mom had made a big deal out of this axe made just for him, but if he was old enough to chop, why wasn’t he old enough for real gloves? 

He knew better than to take the little kid mittens off. The air was cold, the ground was cold, the dumb axe handle was cold. Rubbing his hands together, Cloud glared at it to figure out what to do next. His chore was to cut the wood down to pieces that can fit in their stove. Maybe he could break it instead of cutting it. 

When he grabbed the nearest piece, that plan lost merit. First, the wood was heavy! He almost dropped it, but managed to drag it through the dirt to the chopping spot. Dragging the wood pushed icy dirt and rocks into his boots, though. Was there anything about this chore that wasn’t the worst? 

Nope. Everything was the worst. Cloud tucked his stinging fingers under his arms. Ok, so he couldn’t break the wood into pieces. He had a new hole or two in his mittens now, and probably splinters. At least it was too early in the day for anyone else to be outside. His mom was the only one crazy enough to put her kid in the woods before the sun was all the way up. No one saw his miserable attempt at separating that log. Or carrying it, for that matter. 

For a moment, Cloud considered giving up. He looked across the clearing to the back of his house. His mom had just finished the back deck with stairs yesterday. Even with a fresh layer of snow, the newer wood sharply contrasted against the older planks up the side of the house, gapped and peeling. The deck was supposed to hold all the firewood Cloud was going to chop. It was a lot of empty space. But the challenge of it gave him renewed energy. His mom was counting on him! 

Cloud grabbed the axe handle with both hands, trying to grip it hard enough that the mittens couldn’t slide. He managed to lift it and tightened his grip when it slipped slightly. But raising it above his head to chop pushed his scarf into his face, which tipped his hat back and let his hair fall in his eyes. To top it off, the axe slid out and thudded behind him because he was distracted. 

“Dangit shit!” Cloud huffed the worst swear he knew. He shoved his hair back under the hat and tried to wrestle the scarf into place.

“You’re getting wood now?” 

Dangit shit--Cloud spun around. A group of kids from town were on the path looking at him. Tifa, the leader, had her fist on her waist, waiting for an answer. The others were waiting for her cue to laugh or ignore him. 

“My mom made me.” Cloud pretended the scarf was just where he wanted it. Tifa and her group nodded. Parents were one of the things they could all understand. 

“We’re going to the river. It’s frozen.” Steffan, a smaller boy, piped up. He was the only one Cloud knew even a little. They moved here together. 

“He can’t come. He’s got to do chores.” Tifa’s best friend Sabine sneered. Her dad owned the inn, so she thought she was pretty important. Tifa was the mayor’s daughter, though, so she was the most important. 

“He can so come!” Steffan protested. “He can get wood on the way back. His mom will never know. Grandma never does.” 

It was a pretty good idea. There were a ton of smaller pieces in the forest. And Tifa was nice, and it’d make Sabine mad. Cloud made up his mind. 

“I’ll go.” He picked up the wood bag. 

“Okay, come along.” Tifa generously granted. Sabine huffed, and the other kids looked annoyed. Cloud hung back with Steffan. Everyone else got ahead on the path, but Cloud didn’t mind. They were talking about him, he knew, the way they whispered and glanced back. 

No one said anything that would start a fight this time. They were all focused on trudging down the trail to the river. A few inches of snow fell last night, and they were the first to travel into the woods. Not only did they have to avoid the low branches, they had to break up the snow and keep an eye on the markers to make sure they stayed on the path. 

At least the markers stood out against the dark trunks and stark white ground. Here and there some underbrush tried to push out of the snow, peppering the landscape with brown wisps of sleeping twigs. Sometimes they helped frame the path, but most times they just hid rocks or roots. Cloud was able to skirt around them instinctively, but Steffan didn’t have that knack. 

Since he was staying back with Steffan, the rest of the group seemed to be leaving it to him to help the boy out. Cloud shuffled his boots through any drifts the other kids left to flatten the snow for smaller feet. It made more ice and snow pile into his boots, but at least it was for a good purpose this time. And hefting Steffan over obstacles would build up his strength. Maybe he’d be able to move dozens of logs around after this. 

“I didn’t think you’d come.” Steffan hopped over the rest of a particularly obstructive root. He beamed at Cloud. 

“I didn’t want to chop wood.” Cloud admitted, feeling a temporary camaraderie with the younger boy. 

“I’m glad you did.” Steffan lowered his voice to a whisper, “They don’t act nice all the time.” 

Cloud nodded. The other kids have been living in town their whole lives. They acted like that made them smarter and better, and Steffan got along with them because he believed it. Cloud couldn’t blame him--any town was better than Corel. He’d take the cold over the endless dust any day. But he knew there were WAY better places than Nibelheim. 

Though even he had to admit that the sight of the large frozen mountain river was impressive. All the kids forgot their social status and ran for the ice. Cloud tripped over a rock at the river’s edge and slid, spinning over the ice through the snow. 

“Wow!” Steffan yelled. Cloud sat up, a little dizzy. Tifa threw herself onto the ice face first, trying to slide and spin, too. 

“Aw, man!” She yelled as she ended up skidding to a mediocre halt in the middle of the river. 

“I can do it,” boasted Sabine. The rest of the morning became a contest to determine the best slide onto the river. Ronja Huber won the best individual spin, but Sabine and Tifa won the team spin competition after. Cloud couldn’t replicate his original stumble, not even when Georg from the store “helpfully” gave him a shove. 

They were gathering up misplaced scarves, boots, socks, when Cloud noticed that the forest had gotten dark. How late was it? He snatched up his bag and scanned the sky for the sun. His mom was going to kill him if it was night already and he didn’t have any wood chopped.

“Is it late?” Cloud asked hesitantly. He couldn’t find the sun, and it was getting darker and colder fast. Steffan noticed the worry on his face and came over to help him gather his things. Tifa opened her mouth to reply when a large rumbling scream came down the mountain over them. 

Everyone froze. Cloud’s eyes were stuck on the sky, his limbs suddenly numb and cold. He saw when the giant beast burst from the forest and started soaring in the air. Sabine screamed at the sound of dozens of trees snapping, and that broke the spell on all of them. 

Tifa grabbed Sabine’s hand and began running and dragging her along. Georg was fast behind them, and Ronja grabbed her hat before dashing in a different direction. Cloud tore his eyes away from the scene and prepared to run himself. But he saw Steffan, still dazed and holding his boot.

“Go!” He yelled. When Steffan didn’t respond, he tried grabbing the boot from the boy. “Steffan, move!” 

The shouting drew the attention of the beast in the air. It whipped around in a tight circle and barreled down to the river. Cloud squeaked and grabbed Steffan bodily. He’d carry the kid if he had to. 

They were both pushed down by a gust of dank air as the beast crashed to a land. Cloud tried to scramble to his feet, slipping in the snow. It was melting under them. The air emanating from the monster was warm and dark. It scanned the fleeing figures of the children, eyes coming to a rest on Cloud and Steffan. 

Cloud was NOT going to wait around for it to eat him. With a renewed determination, he hauled Steffan up and got a few steps over to more stable ground. The beast made a rumbling chortling sound, and snapped out with a hand made of claws. 

One caught Cloud’s leg and dragged down to his ankle, where another found Steffan’s foot. Steffan screamed so loudly that Cloud forgot to. Great time for him to finally wake up. Cloud gritted his teeth against the flashing pain and whiteness in his head. 

“You.” A blast of hot coppery air blew around Cloud’s head. He coughed. When his eyes stopped stinging, he looked up and found the beast… grinning at him. 

“Wh...a?” Cloud gaped. 

“Found you.” It chortled again and pushed its claws further into Cloud and Steffan, trapping them on the slushy muddy ground. Cloud gasped as a new wave of pain flashed up his leg and Steffan began wailing. The monster kept grinning, pleased with its handiwork. It brought its head down over Cloud, close enough that its breath shifted his hair. 

“Where is she?”


	2. Chapter 2

Cloud was frozen. 

None of these things had talked to him before. He was sure he was crushing Steffan, his leg was aching and stinging, and he was starting to overheat under the wet breath of this horrible beast. 

It snarled and brought another clawed limb around to Cloud. Two smooth and disturbingly warm claws clamped on his head, and he was pulled closer to its face. He immediately forgot about his leg. Crying out, he scrabbled at the claws with his hands. His fingers slid right off, and the monster didn’t even seem to notice his efforts-- it was focused on getting Cloud’s face at eye level. 

Cloud found himself staring right into its huge green eyes, unable to turn his head away. The eyes glowed and pulsed. They had shifting, swirling patterns around a deep black center. It looked like a whole universe could fit in there. Cloud was mesmerized. His body relaxed into the claws clamped around him. 

“Better,” The beast almost crooned. “Now, where is she?” 

“Right here.” Cloud’s mom aimed her rifle and blew the head off of the beast. Cloud fell to the ground in a mess of ooze and claw bits. 

“Owwww eeeeewww…” Cloud rolled to his good side in the muck. What was going on? 

“Cloud, wrap this around your leg.” His mom shoved a rag in his hands. She wrapped Steffan’s foot in a similar rag, and Cloud copied her technique. 

“Mom? It talked to me.” He felt queasy and weird. But his mom was here, and she would know what to do.

“... I heard. I guess they’re getting smarter.” She said eventually. “But not smart enough.” 

“Yeah!” Cloud beamed, relief increasing his volume. 

“Let’s get Steffan home.” She hauled Steffan into one arm, and scooped Cloud up in the other. “Are you hurt anywhere else, Steffan?” 

“No ma’am” Steffan squeaked. He looked at Cloud with round wide eyes, trying to confirm the reality of what they just saw. Too bad for Steffan--Cloud wasn’t really sure either. 

They found Ronja on the way back. She wasn’t hurt, so she took Steffan. Cloud felt his mom lift him up, elevating his leg. The group cut through the clearing where Cloud was supposed to chop wood and got to the backyard of the house. 

“Ronja, could you take Steffan home?” Cloud’s mom climbed up the deck and nudged the back door open with her foot. “You can come through the house, that will be faster.” 

“Ok! I’ll tell his mom what happened!” Ronja gleefully went to the village center and over to the Graf’s house. Cloud’s mom sighed, and set Cloud down on the bed. She closed the front door firmly, then stopped by a lopsided cabinet on her way to the back door. 

“Keep your leg up, and I’ll bring over the bandages. Do you remember how to clean a cut?” 

“YEAH,” Cloud scoffed, not letting a little pain get in the way of reaffirming his smartness. 

“Good.” His mom smiled at him, looking relieved. She put a worn bag next to him and unclasped it. He dug into it quickly to prove she didn’t need to get the supplies out for him. He knew how to do it. First, you clean the dirt out. Dutifully, he removed the rag and tossed it to the floor. He cut his pant leg off carefully and peeled the edges away from the wound. There were clean rags in the bag, along with a germ killing potion and real bandages. He poured just enough potion on a new rag and dabbed his leg like his mom had shown him. It stung. He knew it would sting, but it REALLY stung. Maybe he could skip that part. 

No, his mom didn’t just waste her ammo so his leg would fall off. Clenching his jaw, Cloud dabbed more of the potion on the wound as quickly as he could until he covered it all. Then he grabbed a new rag to wrap it up. 

“Use the bandages, Cloud.” His mom said over her shoulder. She set down a trunk and went to the kitchen. He got to use the real bandages! This must be an emergency. Cloud regarded his wound again. It definitely hurt like an emergency, and it was looking pretty gross. He reverently took out the bandages and began wrapping it up. He’d never be able to walk on his leg again. He’d probably have to use a cane for the rest of his life like Grandpa Graf. 

When he was finished admiring his tragedy and pinned the bandages together, he noticed it was getting cold in the house. Was it another monster? His breath hitched by itself, his blood thumped in his head. 

A loud clank rang out, snapping Cloud out of it. His mom had just hit a pot on the edge of the trunk. His hands loosened their grip on the blanket. He didn’t even notice that he’d grabbed it. 

“Are you done?” She came over to examine his work. Cloud held his leg up proudly but stiffly. “How tight does it feel? It needs to stay on for a while.” 

“Ummmm” Cloud looked at the bandages. “It feels ok.” 

“I’ll double check.” His mom gently unpinned the bandage and did something to tighten them up without hurting. Cloud tried to watch but he couldn’t see around his own leg. “Is that better?” 

“Better.” He said, then shivered. The word made him remember the musty breath on his face and the big swirly eyes. He felt his mom’s arms wrap tightly around him and he let himself bury his face in her shoulder. 

“This wasn’t supposed to happen out here.” He barely heard her whisper. She held him that way for a long time. It was nice. She was warm and safe. They only broke apart when there was a rough knocking at the door. 

Cloud glared at the doorway while his mom opened it. He wanted to keep sitting with her. But he quickly schooled his expression when he saw the frowning face of the mayor. Tifa’s dad was fortunately not looking at him, he was crossing his arms and puffing his chest out to try to loom over everyone. 

Almost lost behind him, Cloud saw Steffan’s grandparents. His stomach sank. They had their understanding faces on, which meant that Cloud was in trouble for Steffan’s injury. And since his mom was there, too, that meant she was in trouble for both of them getting injured. Cloud tried to look as healthy as possible. 

“What happened?” demanded Tifa’s dad. Being the mayor meant he had to know everything. 

“Let’s talk outside.” Cloud’s mom stepped out, forcing the mayor to step back. The Grafs were already at a polite distance, unlike him. 

Cloud let a small smirk show on his face as the door shut. His mom would show that stinky mayor a thing or two. And he could go look at the trunk. He’d only seen it once before, and that was when they moved from Corel to this house. Could they be moving again?

There was the good pot, a couple of knives, the new book his mom got from Grandma Graf, and the big canteen he hadn’t seen since they were in Corel. His mom didn’t pack any good food last time, so just in case, he’d better put some in. It’d be hard to reach the top shelf where the best bread was, but he could reach the broom. Maybe he could knock the bread off with it. 

He was in the middle of this brilliant plan when his mom came back in. Her face made him regret it a little. She looked very tired. 

“Come here,” She scooped him up and took him back to the bed. Cloud kicked at the mess with his good leg until his mom pulled up the bedcover and tilted the rags, potion, and bag onto the floor. He knew then that she must be pretty tired. The best thing he could do to help was settle in next to her to sleep. 

“I’m ok now.” He tried to soothe her using his sweetest voice. 

“You are.” Cloud’s mom smiled and gave him a squeeze. She hadn’t let go of him yet. He snuggled his face into her side. 

“When are we moving?” 

“Mm.” She pulled the cover up, keeping it away from Cloud’s bandaged leg, and started tucking it around him. “Not tonight. Let’s sleep and see what happens tomorrow.” 

“Are we moving tomorrow?” Cloud yawned, the weight and warmth of the cover making him drowsy. 

“We’ll see.” His mom said firmly, and he knew that was all she’d say from now on. Oh, well. The bed was warm, his leg stopped aching now that he was lying down again, and he wasn’t in trouble for not chopping the wood. Right now, that felt like a pretty good end to the day.


	3. Chapter 3

There was frost on the back door. Actual frost! Cloud could write his name in it and everything. It wasn’t a great idea, because now his finger was numb and wet, but that wasn’t the point. The point was that he should have chopped some wood yesterday. His mom wasn’t starting a fire now, and the house was being reclaimed by the winter. 

“Cloud, go back on the bed.” Oops, she found him. 

“I’m bored, ma!” Cloud whined, but he limped back into bed. After three other attempts to sneak out, he was starting to push her patience. 

“I know.” His mom tried firmly tucking him in again. The big blanket was already packed, but the small blanket was more than enough to cover him. “We’ll be travelling soon and then you’ll wish you were bored like this.” 

“Nuh UH.” He squirmed all the way under the small old blanket and made secret dirty faces. 

“Stop making faces. Just rest.” She always knew. 

Well, there wasn’t any point in hiding. Cloud slunk back out and watched his mom move around the room. She had her big coat on, like him, and her good gloves. Every now and then she had to take a glove off to grab some smaller repair tools or pull something off the wall. Cloud watched everything get judged, then packed or put down. 

The fuel pump she was repairing for the store’s truck was rejected. The clamp it was in got packed. The poster on the wall was skipped over, to Cloud’s disappointment. It was a really cool one that made him feel like they had visited a big city. 

He wasn’t surprised to see the family picture get pulled off the wall and packed. The picture was old--older than he was. And it was full of people he didn’t know. A whole group of Strifes that existed before he did. His mom would take it down and point everyone out to him. He knew where to find his grandmother, great-grandmother and great-grandfather. His mom was in the middle with a lot of other young girls. She was the only one not looking at the camera, so she was easy to find. 

His grandfather wasn’t in the picture, something that his mom got sad about. The family didn’t have the money to get pictures when he was alive. Not that they ever had the money to get pictures, really. This one came from the orchard his mom worked for. The owner let everyone bring their family for the grand moment, and paid with his own money to get copies for everyone. 

His mom spoke kindly of that owner. She pointed him out and his family in the picture, too. They were standing next to a group of young men who were posing and grinning at the camera, except for one. Everyone was barefoot, carefree, and happy. 

Cloud’s mom shook out the fire rug until all the soot and splinters were on the ground. She carefully wrapped the picture and found a secure place for it in the trunk. She had explained before that the thick rug would keep the picture safe from bumping around. 

Besides, they didn’t really have much else left to wrap it in. Cloud was wearing all the clothes he had, except for his socks. One sock. The wound on his leg itched more than it ached, but he wasn’t allowed to put a sock on it yet anyway. And he really wasn’t allowed to scratch at it. 

That was hard, because he didn’t have anything else to do. Cloud idly rubbed the skin next to the wound, shifting the bandages under his fingers. He watched as the trunk got full. Maybe he could help think of things they need. 

Oh! When they moved here, Mr. Kruger from the inn gave his mom a necklace. Since then, he thought they’d get married. At first it was exciting, because the inn was a big cool house that looked fun to explore. But then he dreaded it, because Sabine was really mean. Her older sister Anne was bossy, not in a mean way, but it was still frustrating. And their young brother Falk was a baby. Babies were the worst. 

But he was going to put up with it, because his mom really liked the necklace. She wouldn’t wear it in town, but she would make it sparkle and reflect the fire light when the two of them were stuck indoors during the bigger storms. She probably didn’t even think of bringing it, and she’d thank Cloud for thinking of it.

Darn, his mom was outside. Probably getting her garden tools. Well, he knew where she kept the necklace. Cloud slid off the bed, gripping the side and lowering himself to the cold floor slowly. Once his good leg had a firm grasp on the wood, he put the rest of his weight on it and limped to the cabinet by the back door. 

There were a few steps up to the cabinet. Cloud never really paid attention to them before, but now they blocked his path. As long as he was really careful-ow. He stubbed his good toes on the edge of the first step. At least it wasn’t his other- OWWW!

“Cloud!” His mom dropped her tools in the doorway and ran over to him. “What were you thinking? This is why you were supposed to stay in the bed!” 

“I was helping!” Cloud “I’m packing the necklace.”

“We don’t need that, Cloud.” She hauled him up and carried him back. “I’m taking care of the packing, and you need to take care of your leg while you can.”

“But-” Cloud said.

“Stay. In. Bed.” His mom commanded. She gave him a Look until he closed his mouth, then went to collect the tools she dropped. 

His life was completely unfair! He risked everything to get that one nice present for her, and he got yelled at! It’d serve his mom right if his leg fell off, though she’d probably just make him carry it. Did she even realized how much he would have sacrificed when she married Mr. Kruger? He’d never sacrifice anything again. 

There was a gentle knock on the door. Cloud’s mom glanced out a window at the sky, and sighed. She walked past Cloud on the bed. He frowned as hard as he could so she would know how sad he was. It was unbelievable that she didn’t notice. 

“Claudia…” Grandma Graf was at the door. She looked at Cloud’s mom warily. 

“I know, Fransizka.” Cloud’s mom squared her shoulders and looked Grandma Graf in the eyes. “I wasn’t sure before, but now I know. I’m sorry. And we’re leaving.” 

Grandma Graf had the decency to look away, even though she looked relieved. 

“Good afternoon, ladies,” The mayor came to the door, uninvited. “We’re ready to have the town meeting now.” 

“I don’t think we need--” Grandma Graf began quietly.

“We all know what’s going to happen.” Cloud’s mom snapped. “Do we need to be publicly humiliated?” 

“Now, now,” The mayor thought he sounded soothing, “We have to let the town decide, don’t we? Let’s not come to any conclusions without getting everyone’s input.” 

“That’s a yes, then.” Cloud’s mom muttered. More loudly, she said, “We’re going to the Mayor’s house now, Cloud.” 

Even though he was still mad, Cloud got up right away and limped carefully over to her. They were united against the mayor. 

“Should he really be walking?” Their enemy feigned concern. 

“I’m ok, ma.” Cloud said. 

“I’m not leaving without him.” His mom said at the same time. The mayor paused, then nodded. 

On the short, cold trip to the mayor’s big house, Cloud reconciled with his feelings for his mom and forgave her. They had to stick together right now, and if they were moving, Mr. Kruger would have to be heartbroken. His mom was tough enough to see that, and Cloud felt like he grew up a little to see it now. 

The unfortunate Mr. Kruger was coming to the meeting, too. Actually, it looked like everyone in Nibelheim was coming. Even the Fischers, who never got involved in town events. Cloud saw their twin kids Kerstin and Vitali for the first time. They were talking to Ronja’s older brother, Thorben. All the older kids were there, and the younger kids, too. He made a face at baby Falk, in Anne’s arms. Ugh. The weird baby liked it. 

Cloud and his mom had to wait while everyone else filed into the house. It seemed that they were the last ones to get there. Probably the last ones to be notified. Nobody was looking at them, so Cloud stole a peek at the town square. He usually got yelled at for staring, but he liked seeing the houses around the water tower. They all looked like they were waiting for it to give a big speech. 

He’d climb up sometimes and pretend the houses were all looking at him. All of them--except for the old haunted manor. It lurked behind the town, up a hill on the way to the mountain path that no one used anymore. Everyone was supposed to ignore the manor, and for some reason, everyone succeeded. Even when the kids were coming up with their most sinister dares, nobody would even mention the manor. 

Cloud’s mom pulled him forward a little. They were finally able to make it into the mayor’s house. It eclipsed Cloud’s view of the manor as he followed his mom inside. The entrance hall was huge. It had beautiful rugs and pictures, and a whole wall for coats. It was clearly supposed to impress people, and Cloud grudgingly had to admit it was working. 

He saw the adults milling around a table in the next room, and Steffan with Georg climbing up a giant staircase. Steffan must be feeling better if he could make it up those steps as quickly as he was going. Cloud felt relieved about that, and bitter that he was still injured himself. 

“There you are, Claudia.” The mayor glided over like he hadn’t just seen them two minutes ago. “Go ahead and send Cloud on upstairs with the other kids. We’ll get started right away.” 

“I want him to stay with me.” Cloud’s mom put a protective hand on his shoulder. 

“He’ll be fine, dear. All the kids are upstairs.” Grandpa Graf smiled kindly at her. More kindly than Grandma Graf, anyway. But Cloud saw some of the older kids in the next room with the adults! Were they adults now? And hey-he saw the baby in the next room, too! 

“All right.” Cloud’s mom relented. No way, why was she changing her mind? “Cloud, go on upstairs. This will be quick.” 

“...yes, ma.” Cloud had to suck it up. The mayor was watching. But he was going to complain about the baby later. 

The stairs were bigger and longer than they had any right to be. Cloud gritted his teeth and limped up one by one. In the middle of his challenge, he could hear the adults getting started. Maybe he could stop here and listen in. But he could also hear the kids talking upstairs. It sounded like Tifa was in charge. 

He had to say goodbye to Tifa. And Steffan. Cloud made it up the rest of the stairs and followed Tifa’s voice to her room. He paused outside the door to pull his pant leg back down where it had caught on a bandage clip. Untuck the shirt, pat his hair as flat as it could be, and ignore the pain in his leg so that he could saunter in like a cool guy. He was ready. 

Everyone stopped talking when he opened the door. That could be a good sign. Cloud did his best saunter to a cool-looking corner of the room and sat down. His back hit the edge of a chair a little, but he acted like he didn’t feel it. Perfect entrance. 

Or maybe it wasn’t. The other kids were glancing at him, but not looking directly. They were whispering to each other. It wasn’t like the usual whispering this time. No one was glaring at him or laughing. They all had the same wide eyes and small frowns. Except for Ronja. She looked smug. And Steffan. He looked bothered. Was he ok?

“So, you’ve really done it now, Cloud,” Ronja gloated. 

“No I didn’t.” Cloud crossed his arms on automatic defense. 

“You brought the monster here!” She beamed as if she’d caught him at last. She’d actually just caught him by surprise. 

“What--” He managed before everyone chimed in. 

“My mom says she heard you were talking to it!” 

“You looked at the sky and summoned it.”

“No, it’s his mom! She brought it here because she hates the whole town.” 

“It was all spikey like your hair!” 

“Guys!” Tifa yelled. “We have to talk one at a time. My dad says that’s how to do it.” 

“I didn’t bring it here! I hate those stupid monsters, and they hate me!” Cloud jumped in. “They hate everyone.” 

“Cloud, come on.” Tifa crossed her arms, trying to regain order with an impressive pose. 

“They came to Corel.” Steffan’s quiet voice cut through the kids. They turned to look at him. His face was twisted in grief, but his eyes were angry and focused on Cloud. 

“Yeah, but-” Cloud began. 

“The monsters came to Corel.” Steffan grew louder. “They came from the sky and the ground and they killed a lot of people. But they didn’t come until you moved there.” 

Sabine gasped too dramatically and looked at Cloud. The other kids looked at Cloud. He stared at Steffan. 

“Grandpa says they were all around your house. He said they were looking for something. Grandma says they were looking for you.” Steffan glared. “They killed my dad looking for you.” 

Everyone sat in stunned silence. Cloud didn’t know how to react to Steffan’s betrayal. 

“Not me.” He managed, without much conviction. “No…” 

“Yeah, you.” Ronja jeered. Cloud glared at her. This was between him and Steffan. 

“No.” He said more firmly. “They attacked everyone.” 

“They came for you.” Steffan said. 

“You brought them there, and you brought them here.” Ronja helped. 

“No!” Cloud yelled. “There’s no way I brought them!” 

“Prove it.” She leaned down to get in Cloud’s face. He was ready to fight for his honor. “Go into the woods and see if it comes again.” 

“Oh YEAH? I’ll- what?” Cloud held back a punch. 

“If the monster comes to get you, then you’re the one bringing it here.” Ronja flicked one of his hair spikes just the way he hated. “If it doesn’t come, then you’re innocent.” 

She was right. But did it matter? They were moving anyway. Cloud looked at Steffan. If he didn’t prove this, Steffan would think he caused his dad’s death forever. Even though they were only sort of friends, Cloud didn’t want that. 

“Ok, guys, wait.” Tifa imitated the mayor’s most commanding pose. “Just because the monsters might be trying to eat Cloud doesn’t mean we should let them. My dad says Shinra kicked the Strifes out years ago, and maybe Shinra is trying to finish the job.” 

The kids whispered among themselves. Shinra was a dirty word here. Tifa had gotten their attention. 

“But whatever’s happening, the Strife family comes from Nibelheim.” She continued, getting excited. “And if something’s trying to mess with Nibelheim, it’s going to GET Nibelheim! We’re not backing down because Cloud isn’t very easy to like. We never back down from things that aren’t easy!”

“Yeah!” Sabine chimed in.

“I’m sorry for your dad, Steffan. I’m sorry if Cloud’s responsible.” Tifa put both hands on his shoulders in sympathy. “But we have to stop this from ever happening again. Those monsters aren’t going to kill anyone anymore.” 

Steffan looked up at Tifa, still grim. He looked into her bright earnest eyes. 

“Ok.” He nodded. “I guess he didn’t know what he was doing.” 

Tifa’s eyes twitched slightly, anticipating a reaction from Cloud for that blow to his pride. 

But Cloud was already gone.


	4. Chapter 4

One foot was thoroughly protected against the thick crust of snow. The other foot was freezing. Why did Cloud have to get injured so badly he couldn’t wear his sock? It was hard enough to wade through the snow with his limp, he didn’t need his foot to turn to ice, too.

As if he didn’t have enough to worry about, more snow was falling in dizzying swirls all around him. If the snow erased his tracks, how could he prove he was out here? Maybe he could get a rock from the river. No, there were rocks everywhere. He could fill a boot with river water? No way. He couldn’t carry that without spilling it all the way back.

Much less important, but still annoying, was that Cloud couldn’t see where he was going. Rolling gusts of snow whipped through the trees, disguising the path ahead. The wind pushing the snow along howled and blustered so loudly, he had to have his hat all the way over his ears. Of course, that meant the hat kept falling into his eyes.

So when Cloud tripped over a root and started tumbling down, he was ready to be angry. That’s just what he needed! More injuries, and snow in his jacket and pants. His life was GREAT.

When he finally stopped sliding down the sloped path, Cloud took a moment to lie still and curse Ronja. And Steffan, the traitor. And the whole village, why not! He wouldn’t curse his mom, but he was still mad at her for moving here. Above everyone, though, he cursed the stupid ugly smelly monsters that ruined everything.

Twigs snapped and snow rustled nearby. Cloud’s breath stopped. That was the wind, right? He lifted his head slowly and looked around. The snow was still charging along. So that was probably the wind. Yeah.

But a sudden chill ran across his body. And everything looked darker. It was colder and darker, and he was alone. And the snow rustled again, louder. Closer. Cloud hadn’t noticed that his breath returned, but it was short and shallow, firing out rapid puffs in the air. He had to get up. Get up and run. Or hide. Get up and run and hide.

“Quick!”

Where did that come from? The sudden noise startled Cloud to his feet. Was someone out here with him? Was it getting darker? And what was that shape in the distance-

“The monster is coming! Quick, run this way!”

Cloud’s head turned to the right. He suddenly saw a path through the snow, running alongside overgrown brush. Before he could marvel at the miracle of an escape route, his feet were dashing through it. The brush became larger as Cloud ran further down the path. Its branches merged with brush growing on the other side, almost creating a tunnel. There was much less snow here, too, making it easier to run. Cloud realized it must be a wolf path. There weren’t any stray branches in his way, so the wolves must use it often. Well, he’d rather see a wolf right now than those monsters!

He was rammed hard by a giant snarling something that knocked him flat on his face. Wait, he didn’t really mean it! Scrambling back upright, Cloud desperately looked around. But instead of fur and teeth, he saw black ooze steaming in the snow. His limbs froze.

“This way!”

The return of the mystery voice snapped him out of it. There--a hole in the tunnel! Cloud scraped against the right side as he launched through it. Fortunately, the branches just snapped against him. Unfortunately, all the snow they were carrying dumped on Cloud, sending him reeling down.

And down. And down? Cloud was pretty sure he should’ve landed by now. Something was wrong. Did he fall off a cliff? Just as mortal terror froze his blood, Cloud slammed into the ground shoulder first, snow piled on top of him.

Ow. Cloud decided to lie still. It was a completely tactical decision, and not because his whole body hurt. Maybe if he just looked like a pile of snow, he’d be safe. He tried to keep his breath quiet and stop shivering. Every abused nerve in his body was on end, listening for the monster.

But nothing happened. Maybe nothing was there. Yeah, right, that’s just what the monster wanted him to think. Cloud stubbornly kept lying in the snow. He still didn’t hear anything. No claws grabbed him, and the monster’s dank breath failed to appear. The snow was melting, though. It was dripping onto his face.

Cloud finally had enough, and gingerly pushed himself up. His shoulder didn’t hurt as badly as he was convinced it would. Maybe his landing was softened by the giant pile of snow. It crumbled and dripped down around him as he shifted upright. All of his appreciation for the snow vanished as clumps of ice slid down his neck into his jacket. Fine, he was hot anyway! Cloud squirmed out of the jacket and wiped at the ice creeping along his neckline.

A soft rustling sound made him pause, then lift his eyes from the snow. Green lush leaves swayed above him. Sunlight filtered down through them, warming the air. Cloud’s eyes trailed along the branches to an incredibly large trunk, and down to the massive roots. He was sitting on one, its twists and curves infiltrating the rocky cliff behind him. It was a perfect place--except for the icy pool he was sitting in.

Cloud scowled and limped out of the snow pool. He hated cold water the most. It didn’t look like it was going to stay cold, though. Where was this place? How was it all so warm and green?

His leg stung. It ached, too, but everything ached right now. Cloud sat against the root, leaning down to pull off his boot and get the wet pants off his cut. The fabric was really wet--and dark. It left weird slippery stains on his hands. Gross, it left a dark trail all the way from the melted snow! Cloud ripped off the damp leg of his pants quickly. His mom would be furious if he got some weird dye in his wound.

Maybe there was somewhere he could dry the pant leg. Some sunny patch on the ground, or a branch. He was scanning the soft brown dirt and twisted roots when he saw it. A green lake, shimmering in the middle of this weird summer spot. It glittered and pulsed with light. Green beams danced around it, reaching up into the sky. This was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

“Go over to it.”

He was going to do that anyway. In fact, his feet were already pulling him closer to the pool. Maybe it was magic water. If he drank it, he might turn into a frog! As he got closer, the air got warmer and he could see something in the middle of the glowing liquid.

An island? Not quite. Just a weird lumpy rock. Most of it was short, but one cragged spire loomed impressively over him. A dazzling jewel rested on top of the spire, glittering in the sunlight and glow from the pool.

“It’s safe. Go closer.”

It was completely safe! Beside the pool, Cloud felt warm and happy. Now he he really needed to touch that jewel. First, he had to get across the magic water and stay human. There were some stones poking out of the lake, and some that weren’t too deep under the surface. If he made sure he didn’t splash, his boots should keep the water off his bare leg.

Luckily, Cloud was great at balancing. He picked his way over the stones, hopping on one foot sometimes. No one ever played balancing games with him in Nibelheim. They probably knew he’d win. Maybe he could get everyone up here later and teach them a game from the beach. Falling into the water here wouldn’t be as dangerous as the crashing waves. And if Steffan turned into a frog, someone in town could turn him back.

Cloud almost didn’t notice his boots sizzling in the pool. He leapt to the edge of the lumpy rock and stamped the liquid off. The soles of the boots were hot and sticky now, and since he only had one sock, only one boot stayed on. Fine! He didn’t need boots anymore! Cloud yanked the other one off and threw it down. He had to get to the jewel, and these boots weren’t going to get in his way.

Now he had to climb the rock. The first inches were a breeze. Things started to get difficult from there. The spire was much taller than it looked at the edge of the lake. It had looked like it was easier to climb then, too. All of the crags and edges he’d seen before weren’t showing up now. Slowly, painfully, he crept up and up. He felt as though he’d been climbing forever. But he was only halfway done! And he couldn’t see anywhere to go. How was he supposed to do this?

“Don’t give up.”

The voice had a mocking tone, and familiar humiliation burned in his blood. It drove his hands to slap onto the rock hard and yank himself up with sheer will. He struggled upward, the jewel getting closer and larger. It was almost right in front of him. If he just stood on his toes and reached out as far as he could...

The moment he touched the rough surface of the jewel, his eyes were overcome with a sharp brightness, and the world felt like it was spinning all around. It churned Cloud’s stomach. He gripped the jewel tighter, trying to focus on it instead of the swirling, tumbling forest around the pool. But the more he tried to stop his dizziness, the stronger the spinning got.

“What the hell!” Cloud screamed.

“Oh!” A different voice piped up. The swirling stopped abruptly, almost throwing Cloud off the rock. His feet skittered and began to slide down the rock spire. No way--he was NOT climbing that whole way again. He dug his toes into the rock as hard as he could and gripped the jewel tight enough to make his fingers ache.

Everything around the rock was white. The pool was white. The place where the trees used to be was white. All he could see was white and a person shaped blob. Where was he?

“Did it hurt?” The blob asked.

“What?” Cloud blinked.

“My mom says people shouldn’t say bad words. I never tried!” The blob moved closer. “Does it hurt?”

“N.. no. Not if you don’t get caught.” Cloud was stunned into honesty.

“I don’t think I can get caught in here.” The blob rocked on its heels speculatively.

“Where is here?”

“I don’t know!” The blob sounded too cheerful about that.

“How do we get out?” Cloud shifted his grip, irritated.

“How did you get in?” The useless blob questioned instead of helping.

“I… “ Cloud paused. He got there by touching the jewel. It seemed to be really important to get it before, but now that he had it and it had sent him to some weird annoying place, the allure was vanishing. Why did he want it?

 **“Where is she?”** The voice from the woods scraped into his mind. It boomed around the whiteness, vibrating the rock spire. Cloud’s hands slipped down the jewel and his bad leg buckled under him. Startled, he lost his grip, and rolled roughly down the spire, the whiteness whirling, turning back into the forest.

But when Cloud landed on the edge of the rock, the sunlight was gone. The sky was dark and turbulent. A scream of anger pounded in Cloud’s head, and he blearily realized it was echoing out across the trees. Coldness gripped his body, running ice through his veins. Except for his bad leg. It was really warm. Kind of hot. Really hot. Burning!

It was in the pool! Cloud rolled sharply to yank it out of the hot liquid. Green drops fizzled and glowed over his wound, burning up the black scabs. Tears stung in his eyes as he gasped in pain. Before he could think, a snarling, dripping monster leapt out from a bush.

“That won’t help you,” It sneered at Cloud. “We can find you now.”

He froze. He couldn’t find his voice. All he could do was watch the monster stalking around the edge of the snow-cleared roots. Maybe he should call for help? But… then everyone would know the monster did come after him.

The air darkened. Cloud looked up--the sky was dark, but not darker than before. He looked down. A long, black smear trailed from his bad leg into the water. The lake was turning black, and the glow was fading away. As the light disappeared, a sinking feeling grew in Cloud’s stomach. The feeling intensified as the monster took a tentative step out of the snow.

“You won’t get away this time.” The monster creeped more confidently toward him. Cloud skittered backward, but quickly hit the rock spire. He might be able to get away if he ducked around the spire and bolted into the bushes. Before he could try, the bushes rustled, and another monster slithered out onto the giant roots.

Then another came out, then another. Cloud was surrounded. He felt a despair he hadn’t known since Corel. There were hundreds of monsters there. It wouldn’t take that many to kill him here.

“Now tell us where she--” The lead monster began, then suddenly its head slammed into the ground. Sturdy boots pinned the head down as Cloud’s mom blew it to pieces with her rifle. Another monster growled and rammed a spiked wing into the rifle. It flew out of Cloud’s mom’s hands with a splat of black ooze.

She leapt back faster than Cloud could see, and gunshots plummeted down, ripping through the monsters. Cloud’s mom landed on the biggest branch of the tree, two smoking revolvers in her hands. Then, roaring and screaming, the other adults from Nibelheim rushed out of the bushes toward the monsters.

Everything in front of Cloud became a confusing dance of human battling monster. Mr. Kruger slammed the inn’s shovel over a monster’s leg. Mrs. and Mr. Fischer made a terrifying duo with spears that looked older than Cloud. The monsters were taken by surprise, and before any of them could get their bearings, Cloud’s mom would shoot them from her vantage point, protecting the whole village.

But it wasn’t long before Nibelheim was outmatched. Mr. Keller from the store fell in front of the pool, and a nasty bird-like monster gashed his chest with its claw. The mayor punched it in the face, and Cloud’s mom shot it dead, but it was too late. Cloud could see the blackness that slimed around his leg start to churn in Mr. Keller’s cuts.

This was all his fault. He slimed the magic lake, and he made the monsters attack. He killed Steffan’s dad. Now Mr. Keller was going to die, too. Maybe if he could get away, the monsters would chase him and leave everyone else alone. He looked desperately for a way out, but the melee around the lake was too intense to run through.

A faint green glow caught his eye. The lake was coming back! He looked at the liquid excitedly. No, it was still black. But its surface reflected the glow from above. The rock spire--the jewel! Cloud could use the jewel to teleport away!

He furiously climbed back up the rock. In mere moments, the jewel glittered in front of him again. Cloud braced himself for the spinning sensation, and grabbed it with both hands. The forest spun at first, then began winding down slowly. Beneath his fingers, the glow of the jewel began to fade.

No, no no! It couldn’t die now. He had to lead the monsters away. He had to stop killing everyone. It wasn’t fair. Cloud’s breath hitched and he bit his lip furiously to try to stop his tears. Why couldn’t he do something right for once?

“Don’t be sad!” The blob’s voice rang in his ears. Oh, good, he couldn’t teleport away with the jewel, but he could talk to the blob again.

“Leave me alone.” Cloud sniffed.

“I don’t think I can.” The blob sounded thoughtful. “But I also don’t want to. You need help!”

“Help?” He said, “How can you help? You’re a blob.”

“A blob!” It giggled. “So are you! Us blobs should stick together.”

“I’m not a blob!” Cloud fumed.

“I’ll help anyway. I have some power!” Before Cloud could argue, the jewel began to brighten.

“What the he-”

“Point at the calamity! Pretend you’re a mom, and shoot!”

Cloud gripped the jewel tightly with one hand and pointed fiercely at the monsters, copying his mom’s guns. He felt a surge of power flow into his arms. It pooled around his whole body, lifting him slightly into the air. He should have been alarmed. But it was soothing, somehow. His fears and sadness were gone, and he felt lighter than he ever had before. Everything was going to be fine.

Because this power had a purpose. It focused his eyes on each monster, and guided his finger straight and true to each vulnerable spot. The power blasted them one by one with brilliant green flashes.

“Pew! Pew pew!” The blob narrated. Clouds eyes filled with white.

Quickly, the whiteness faded. Cloud barely noticed the fleeing monsters as he slid down the rock spire into an exhausted heap. All his blood felt like it was on fire, and his struggling breath made his head pound. It was all he could do to check that the adults were alive, not realizing that every one of them was staring at him. The mayor found his voice first as Cloud’s grip on consciousness vanished.

“He… can kill them,” Mr. Lockhart said, still kneeling by Mr. Keller, “That’s why they’re after him.”


	5. Chapter 5

Cloud’s skin prickled with cold burns. Ice flecks flew all around him in a confusing bluster. Wind whipped in one direction, then the opposite, possessed with the singular purpose of driving the ice into Cloud’s face. 

Frigid stone cliffs surrounded him, barely visible through the frenzied snow. The cliffs looked endlessly tall. Taller than any building in town--maybe even taller than Mt. Nibel. Far, far overhead, a tiny patch of sky flickered in and out of sight. 

Cloud was trapped. 

There had to be a way to climb the cliffs. He stepped forward, but his feet were grabbed and pulled solidly to the ground. Glowing green ice creeped up and around each foot. It was hot! There was nothing close he could use to chip it off. It kept growing faster around him. 

He was stuck, and he was going to burn and freeze to death! Everything was too hot-

Cloud thrashed the blankets off of his head and rolled all the way to the other side of the bed before he realized he was just dreaming. As his breath returned to normal, he wondered if the nightmare was a sign of the day to come. Maybe he should stay in bed instead. 

Cloud looked up and blinked at the sky outside, which was already growing dark with dusk. Well,There was no reason to ruin the day now, then, he figured. Except that the sweat from his blanket wrangling began to cling to his skin uncomfortably. Fine. He’d get up so he could cool down, then decide about the rest of the evening later. 

But the house didn’t have the extreme chill he expected. It was pleasantly warm, with a fire burning away in the stove. A full load of firewood sat next to the kindling bucket. The bucket was unpacked. And so was the coal poker, and the fire rug. Cloud looked around and spotted the family photograph, unwrapped and next to the open travel trunk. 

The good pot was out of the trunk and sitting right on the stove. It bubbled and steamed with something that smelled amazing. Cloud’s stomach clenched inward, suddenly grumbling loudly. Where was his mom? He needed to ask if he could eat the whole pot. It was probably stew, because he liked soup better, so it always turned out to be stew. But right now he’d take it with no complaint. 

“I’ll stir it for you!” 

Cloud froze. That was Tifa’s voice. What was she doing here? 

Tifa bounced into the room and froze, too, spotting Cloud on the bed. Her expression confused him. Was she scared to see him? Her eyes were wide, but her face wasn’t tight with fear. She looked like she couldn’t believe he was there. Like he was a ghost, but like she’d always wanted to talk to a ghost. 

“Did you blow up the monsters?” Tifa’s voice was strange, too. She was almost whispering, as if his ears would pop at normal volume. 

“Kind of.” Cloud winced internally at his own voice. It came out crackly and loud. She was creeping him out, so he sounded weird! 

“You saved everyone.” Tifa sounded serious. Maybe she was starting to respect him? This could be his chance to make everyone see how cool he really was. Except...

He didn’t actually save everyone. The blob saved them, putting power in him through the jewel. It was his fault that everyone was in danger in the first place. The monsters really were after him, and they got him. They poisoned him, and he poisoned everything around him. He was just lucky that the jewel contacted the blob when he touched it again. 

“Not.. really.” Cloud croaked out, tilting his head away from Tifa. He didn’t want to see how disappointed she was.

“And I promise it will be very quick,” The mayor’s voice boomed into the small Strife house, “We just need to agree on a plan so we can regroup after that attack.”

“No more than an hour.” Cloud’s mom followed the mayor in from the back deck and set her mouth to a thin line. She was annoyed. Not a good time to ask about food. 

“An hour is plenty.” The mayor reassured with honeyed tones. Cloud searched his face for the usual twitch that gave away his true feelings. But he just took Tifa’s hand, gave some vague farewells, and glided out the front door. Cloud’s mom closed it firmly behind them. 

The pot hissed as liquid boiled over the edge. Cloud’s mom dashed over to it and began to tame the overflowing bubbles. She’d be really annoyed now. Cloud was better off finding something to do until it was safe to bug her. 

He settled for picking at his leg. It wasn’t burning from its bath in the magic lake anymore, but it still itched. Most of the black scabs were gone, leaving twisted black scars. The scars spread uninterrupted down his leg, but as they got close to the foot, blotches of pink scarring poked through. A whole half his foot was pink and extremely itchy. 

The poison in his foot must have leaked out into the lake. That meant a depressing amount of poison was left in his leg, but it was possible he could get it out. Maybe this time he could find a bucket instead of ruining a sacred magical place in the forest. First, he’d have to see if he could get the poison to drain. He settled in to work on a promising looking scab. 

“Stop picking at it.” Cloud’s mom called out from the stove. 

“I’m trying to see if the monster poison will come out.” Cloud protested. 

“Monster poison?” She came over to the bed, balancing a steaming bowl in one hand and a tray of bread in the other. 

“Soup?” Cloud said hopefully. His mom gave a small smile and set the tray down by him. It wasn’t just soup--it was tomato mushroom soup! That was his absolute favorite, and they only ever had it on his birthday. He and his stomach couldn’t wait to gobble it down. 

“Don’t burn your mouth, Cloud.” His mom put some bread in his non-soup spoon hand. He bit off a large chunk quickly, cooling the searing soup he’d just gulped. 

The next few minutes of soup were completely blissful. He loved the warm tang of tomato on his tongue, and the way the mushrooms soaked up all the spices and burst them out as he chewed. He only used the bread sparingly. Wet bread didn’t go with the savory sensation he wanted to have right now, but it would be perfect to scoop out leftover soup at the bottom of the bowl. 

“Cloud.” His mom put a gentle arm around his shoulders. “Before we got to the spring, you were talking to the monsters, weren’t you?” 

Cloud’s stomach dropped. He chewed bread slowly, nodding carefully. 

“Did they tell you about this monster poison?” 

“Yes.” Cloud said. He stabbed at the last inch of soup with the bread. It was time to come clean. “They were looking for me. When I got caught, they said I’d never get away and they made all this poison come out of my leg. Like Mr. Keller…” 

“Mr. Keller is alive.” Cloud’s mom held him tightly. She squeezed some of his horrible feeling away. “But I don’t like the look of your leg or his chest. Can you remember exactly what they said about it?” 

“No,” Cloud admitted. 

“Did this happen to the others…?” He barely heard her question begin. The door boomed and rattled with rapid knocking. Cloud’s mom gave him one more tight squeeze, then reluctantly stood and walked to the door, frowning. 

She yanked the door open a couple of feet, then went right back to the bed and sat by Cloud. He was relieved that he wouldn’t have to get up. Of course, it could hurt his reputation even more if he was seen leaning on his mom. But what good was his reputation when every kid knew that the monsters were after him?

Fortunately, there weren’t many kids coming in, so Cloud’s conundrum didn’t matter. Tifa came in with her dad, but she wouldn’t pick on him. Her mom was sick, so she never made fun of anyone who was close to their parents. Anne was with Mr. Kruger, and Nik with Mrs. Keller. Ronja and her siblings weren’t there, and Steffan wasn’t with the elderly Grafs. 

There wasn’t any amiable chatting among the adults this time. They came in quickly and quietly. At the end of the group, the entire Fischer family trickled through and sat near the back door. The twins were younger than Cloud, but they sat as calm and attentive as their grandpa. Besides Tifa, they were the only other young kids there.

“All right everyone, we’re just going to conclude the meeting from last night.” The mayor was sitting in the only good chair with Tifa on his lap. Her face wasn’t so strange now, but it was serious. And she didn’t even glance at Cloud. 

“We’ve heard from everyone. Franziska and Rico have confirmed that these monsters came to Corel, after Claudia fled them in Costa del Sol.” The mayor nodded to the Grafs and Cloud’s mom. “But we all know that they’ve been spotted in the Nibel mountains for years before that.” 

Cloud looked up in surprise. Anne and Nik looked surprised, too, but Tifa did not.

“We always suspected Shinra was making the monsters so we’d need their protection.” the mayor huffed, “They showed up after monster sightings, offering their so-called help. And as soon as they stepped into town, they started grabbing up everything of value. Food, wood, mako--they even took some of our best people. 

“We paid that bastard for years. And when we kicked him out three years ago, I waited for retaliation. But I think that’s exactly when he realized he had a bigger problem on his hands.” Tifa’s dad leaned forward in the chair. “I think he found the Strifes and their child’s power.” 

Cloud knew Shinra was a cursed name in Nibelheim, but he never imagined this kind of evil. He was so engrossed in the tale that he only seethed a little at being called a child. 

“As we all saw last night, the Strife child can destroy these monsters. I believe Shinra is trying to eliminate him before he can ruin their scam. How many other towns are being tricked into buying their protection? How much is at stake for Shinra? This boy, the Strifes, they’ve come home to Nibelheim and given us our chance to hit Shinra right where it hurts!” The mayor’s eyes were lit with resolve, and it was echoed by the other adults in the room. 

Cloud was surprised. Mr. Kruger, who was just last week yelling at him for being worthless, looked fiercely protective. The Fischers had a small reserved smile for him echoed by their twins. This was all really strange. He glanced up at his mom, who looked just as unsure as he felt.

“How did you use this materia, Cloud?” The mayor held the jewel out to him. In the dim firelight, it was even more dull and subdued than in the forest. It looked lifeless.

“You can’t take it from the magic lake!” Cloud blurted, horrified. The adults shared an amused glance, which made him angrier. 

“The lake made the materia,” Mrs. Fischer said calmly. Her low voice was sweet and soothing. “It will make another. That is its purpose.” 

Cloud wasn’t very reassured. The jewel sat pathetically beside him on the bed. It didn’t even seem to reflect the light from the fire. Would the lake really be able to make a new jewel? Would a new jewel help get rid of the poison? Could the lake even make one if it was poisoned? 

Maybe if he put power back in this jewel, he could magic away the poison so the lake can make a new one. The blob put power in the jewel, so it couldn’t be impossible. He just had no idea how to do it. Could he somehow contact the blob again?

He realized that the adult conversation had continued without him. Tearing his eyes away from the jewel, Cloud tried to focus on their voices. 

“Nina will train the adults.” The mayor was gesturing to Mrs. Keller, who had a steely set to her jaw. She was going to get revenge for her husband. 

“I have a friend who can teach the kids.” Mrs. Keller added. “I’ve sent him a message already.” 

“So I think that covers everything.” The mayor beamed like he solved all the problems. “It’s almost been an hour, so I think that’s enough. Let’s give the Strifes some peace for tonight.” 

All too quickly, everyone was bundling up and heading out the door. Cloud missed most of the meeting, and he didn’t get a chance to talk to Tifa. He could have asked her if Steffan hated him, or at least got a heads up on how annoying Ronja was going to be now that everyone knew she was right. 

Cloud and his mom sat in silence long after everyone left. Cloud tried to understand what he’d heard of the meeting, but it was so confusing. The adults seemed happy he was there, but they agreed that the monsters were hunting him. He got Steffan’s dad killed, Mr. Keller was hurt, and he couldn’t tell them how the monsters exploded because he didn’t know. But now he wasn’t leaving Nibelheim?   
His thoughts were broken by his mom climbing out of the bed. She secured the front door and took the soup tray to the sink. Cloud saw that her face was stiff. Her mind was somewhere else. She didn’t get to explain anything in the meeting, either. And no one in town liked her any better than they liked him, except Mrs. Fischer and Mrs. mayor. Was she confused, too? 

The freshly cleaned tray hit the stove with a clatter. Cloud almost jumped. His mom was looking at him now, and she had an expression he’d never seen before. Fascinated and a little scared, he watched her march to the pantry and open the drawer he wasn’t allowed to touch. 

She pulled out the biggest, oldest, and most unimpressive looking knife he’d ever seen. With all the dirt caked on it, Cloud couldn’t tell where the edge ended and the handle began. It didn’t seem worthy of the mysterious forbidden drawer. He watched as his mom brought it to the table. It didn’t even make a cool sound when it hit the wood, just a dull thunk.

“Come over here, Cloud.” His mom sat on the bench and tapped the spot next to her. Sensing a lecture or a lesson, Cloud slowly dragged himself out of bed. He didn’t think he was in trouble, but he couldn’t be sure he wasn’t in trouble, either. 

“You’re going to be in danger.” Cloud’s mom sighed heavily. “These monsters are going to keep coming, wherever we go. It’s something we both have to accept and deal with.” 

He nodded. The weight of his curse was still heavy in his soul, but he knew how terrible it was now. He was ready to do something about it.

“So it’s time for you to learn to be dangerous. This is going to be your weapon.” 

“...oh.” Cloud regarded the knife again. It looked even more uninspiring up close. 

“Tonight, you’re going to clean it and sharpen it.” His mom pulled a bowl of stinky cleaner, a good rag, and a weird rock over to Cloud’s spot. “When you finish, it will go in this holster. It will stay in the holster at all times, unless you are training or if you are attacked. Do you understand?” 

“............. yeh.” It was probably better than he had to keep it in a boring old holster. Then no one would see his terrible knife.

“If you do a good job, I’ll begin teaching you how to use it tomorrow.” Cloud’s mom left him to his task. He was pretty sure he knew how to use a knife. Grandpa Graf had taught him and Steffan how to clean and sharpen their skinning knives. This was a much bigger knife, but it probably still worked the same way. 

Even the stumpy skinning knife was cooler than this one, Cloud reflected after clearing off the first layer of dirt. The handle was a plain chunk of wood with no mysterious jewels, no secret compartments, no special carvings or designs. The only designs on the blade were splotches of rust. This wasn’t how a cursed knife was supposed to look. 

But this was maybe how long a cursed knife was supposed to take to clean. Cloud yawned to himself. He had to scrape the rust with the rock, rinse it in the cleaner, dry it off with a rag and see what rust was left. Rinsing was very important, because if the rags got too much rust, they had to get a deep cleaning. 

Cloud scraped, rinsed, and dried over and over. Eventually there were only two stubborn spots left. Yawning, he decided to try scraping at a different angle. Maybe it would work if he put his head on the table. He could probably focus better if he closed one of his eyes. 

“WAKE UP!” 

Cloud wasn’t asleep! He definitely didn't fall asleep at the table with his mom’s good rags. Especially if they got rust all over them and she was going to make someone clean them for hours.

Then Cloud realized he wasn’t at the table anymore. He was lying in some kind of dirt pit. And he was BIG! His hands looked large and tough, and he could see real muscles along his arms. As he pulled himself upright, he felt the disciplined power in his body respond. Was this how he would be as an adult? He knew it! 

Grinning to himself, Cloud figured his chores would take half the time now. No, less than half! He could chop down a whole forest. And he could use the big axe. But there were no trees in this pit, and there definitely wasn’t an axe--not even his small one. All he could see was the grubby old knife stuck in the dirt. Well, at least it wouldn’t be heavy now.

Except that once his hand touched the handle, the knife grew larger and larger until it was taller than he was. He could barely lift it with both hands, bracing himself against the crumbly dirt cliff behind him. That wasn’t fair! It was heavier than the axe. 

As the knife slipped under his grip, he felt a burning tingle run up his leg. Monster poison! Cloud’s eyes darted around. Where was the monster? A gust of air blew over him and he looked up. It was floating down from the sky. 

The monster landed smoothly a short distance from him. He watched, almost unable to look away, as it kneeled into the loose rocks and dirt. It glanced down at him and smirked. Even in that crouch, it was taller than he was all grown up. Cloud’s cheeks burned with embarrassment. Well, he bet the monster couldn’t pick up the knife, either. 

The monster reached out, and Cloud’s heart jumped--could it read minds? But it aimed past the knife and gestured at Cloud. His ears rang sharply, and his legs picked themselves up and walked without him saying so. He tried to protest, but his mouth closed with another twitch of the monster’s hand. 

He glared at the monster so hard that his vision blurred. A pain shot through his skull, squeezing his forehead. When the pressure eased, Cloud saw he was reaching for a smooth, dark jewel. It was so black that it looked like a hole in the universe. It felt colder than ice under his touch, and he could swear it was moving, twisting in his grip. 

Cloud didn’t want to hold this weird thing! As he struggled to let it go or throw it, his body stood straight and began walking to the monster. The closer he got, the more smug it became. What was it going to do with this jewel? It looked much stronger than the one in the lake. Was the monster going to teleport with it? Could it talk to other monsters? Or worse, could it teleport other monsters here? 

The monster was talking to him. At least, he could see its mouth moving. He couldn’t hear anything. He couldn’t stop anything. The poison pulsed in his whole body, drowning his senses and beating back his willpower. All he could do was walk closer and closer, eyes glued to the monster’s darkness. He tried to scream as his vision flooded with black. 

There was nothing. Darkness. Silence. No sensations from his body, and only silence in his mind. Cloud struggled to have a thought, to move a finger, to do something that would prove he still existed. Just when he convinced himself he had vanished, a faint blob appeared in the dark distance. 

A voice rang out from the blob, pushing the poison darkness away. 

“Cloud, are you all right?”


End file.
